GEPHE SUMMARY Print
Entry Status
Published
GepheID
GP00000272
Main curator
Martin
PHENOTYPIC CHANGE
Trait Category
Trait State in Taxon A
Primate ancestor
Trait State in Taxon B
Hominoid and Old World Monkey ancestor
Ancestral State
Data not curated
Taxonomic Status
Taxon A
Latin Name
Common Name
-
Synonyms
Primata; Primates Linnaeus, 1758
Rank
order
Lineage
Show more ... erostomia; Chordata; Craniata; Vertebrata; Gnathostomata; Teleostomi; Euteleostomi; Sarcopterygii; Dipnotetrapodomorpha; Tetrapoda; Amniota; Mammalia; Theria; Eutheria; Boreoeutheria; Euarchontoglires
NCBI Taxonomy ID
is Taxon A an Infraspecies?
No
Taxon B
Latin Name
Common Name
-
Synonyms
-
Rank
parvorder
Lineage
Show more ... brata; Gnathostomata; Teleostomi; Euteleostomi; Sarcopterygii; Dipnotetrapodomorpha; Tetrapoda; Amniota; Mammalia; Theria; Eutheria; Boreoeutheria; Euarchontoglires; Primates; Haplorrhini; Simiiformes
NCBI Taxonomy ID
is Taxon B an Infraspecies?
No
GENOTYPIC CHANGE
Presumptive Null
No
Molecular Type
Aberration Type
SNP
SNP Coding Change
Nonsynonymous
Molecular Details of the Mutation
Arg64Ser
Experimental Evidence
Taxon A Taxon B Position
Codon - - -
Amino-acid - - -
Authors
Zhang J; Rosenberg HF
Abstract
An improved understanding of the evolution of gene function at the molecular level may provide significant insights into the origin of biological novelty and adaptation. With the approach of ancestral protein reconstruction, we here address the question of how a dramatically enhanced ribonucleolytic activity and the related antiviral activity evolved in a recently duplicated ribonuclease (eosinophil-derived neurotoxin) gene of higher primates. We show that the mother gene of the duplicated genes had already possessed a weak antiviral activity before duplication. After duplication, substitutions at two interacting sites (Arg-64-->Ser and Thr-132-->Arg) resulted in a 13-fold enhancement of the ribonucleolytic activity of eosinophil-derived neurotoxin. These substitutions are also necessary for the potent antiviral activity, with contributions from additional amino acid changes at interacting sites. Our observation that a change in eosinophil-derived neurotoxin function occurs only when both interacting sites are altered indicates the importance of complementary substitutions in protein evolution. Thus, neutral substitutions are not simply "noises" in protein evolution, as many have thought. They may play constructive roles by setting the intramolecular microenvironment for further complementary advantageous substitutions, which can lead to improved or altered function. Overall, our study illustrates the power of the "paleomolecular biochemistry" approach in delineating the complex interplays of amino acid substitutions in evolution and in identifying the molecular basis of biological innovation.
Additional References
RELATED GEPHE
Related Genes
No matches found.
Related Haplotypes
1
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